Umno member lodges ROS report over possible violation of party constitution

PUTRAJAYA: A report has been lodged with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) over the possible violation of Umno's constitution over the issue of no contest for the top two party positions.

The report was lodged by party member Muhammad Aizat Fikri Mohd Nasir who claimed that the no-contest motion, which was passed at the Umno general assembly last week, was against several party regulations.

For one, he said that Clause 9.3 of the Umno constitution states that the position of president and deputy president must be elected at the division meetings every three years.

“This is to ensure democracy in Umno,” he pointed out.

He also said the no-contest motion was an additional motion raised at the assembly and according to party rules, a notice of 14 days must be given before a motion could be tabled.

"But delegates did not receive a notice that this motion would be raised at the assembly," he said to reporters after handing over a notice to object to the general assembly’s decision to the ROS on Friday (Jan 20).

The notice was handed over to ROS director-general Mohd Nawardi Saad.

At the Umno general assembly last week, delegates passed a motion for the top two party posts not to be contested in the coming party polls.

This means Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan will remain as Umno president and deputy president respectively for another term.

Party polls are to be held before May 19, six months after the conclusion of the 15th General Election.

In May 2022, Umno amended its constitution to allow for polls to be held within six months after the conclusion of the national polls.

Umno had postponed its party elections for 18 months after the 2018/2021 term ended on June 30, 2021, which meant that polls for the 2021/2023 term had to be held before Dec 30 last year.